Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-11-17
THE CRIME AND THE CRIMINALS

LILLE CRlM AND The CRIMINALS
Brief Review Of the Haymarket Tragedy
Biographies Of the NOTORIOUS Seven.
All are familiar with the agitations
leading up to the Haymarket massacre
and reiteration of the facts are no.
necessary. May 4, 1886, was day Of in
tense excitement and in the evening
crowd of about 1000 gathered at the
Haymarket. About 9 O'Clock Spies,
Parsons, Fielder and other leaders ap-
peared, mounted wagon standing in
Desplaines street, where the approach of
the police could be seen, and ad-
dressed the crowd in the order
named, the remarks Of the latter being
bitter and infamatory in the exreme.
At this point Capt. Bonfeld ordered out
seven companies of police, about It's
men, ana ordered the mob to quietly dis
perse. Then came the memorable bomb
explosion killing lone officer, Matthias
j. began outright, mortally wounding
six others who died after few days of
suffering, and so seriously injuring six
others that they were disabled for weeks
and months. AN anarchist was also killed
outright. The police rallied and charged
the mob with revolvers and clubs and it
is estimated that about a score Of the
socialists were killed and $50 wounded.
On May 9Th, the Arbeiter-Zeitung Office
was raided and August Spies, editor-in-
chief and manager of the paper;
Michael Schwab, associate editor;
Charles Spies, brother of August,
Mrs. Elizabeth Mary Holmes associate,
editor; eighteen printers, two reporters
and two messengers were arrested
Among the printers was Adolph Fischer,
who was heavily armed. All except Spies,
Schwab and Fischer were subsequently
released. After the inquest the other
prisoners were held without bail. Rudolph
Schnaubelt was arrested also but was re-
leased. 1t afterward appeared that he
was the man who threw the bomb. He
was again looked for but had fed to Eu-
rope and has never been found. On May
9th the grand jury returned indictments
against Spies, Fielden, Schnaubelt,
Fischer, Lingg, Engel, Schwab, Neebe,
Anton Herschburger and John APPEL.
The last two were not tried
as the evindence was not strong
enough to convict. Neebe who took
charge of the Arbeiter Zeitung after
Spies arrest was at once arrested. The
anarchists were tried before Judge Gary,
the case lasting from June 81, to August
20, inclusive. The time until July 10, was
expended in securing a jury, 1921 tales
men, in all, being examined.
Counsel who appeared in the case
was: For the state States Attorney
Julius S. Grinnell, Frank Walker, and
Edmund Furthmann, his assistants, and
George G. Ingham. For defendants
Capt. W. p. Black, Moses Solomon, Sig
mUnd zeisler, and W. A. Foster.
The arguments in the trial lasted from
Aug. IL to 10. The jury, which was out
from $3.50 p. N. Aug. 10 to 10 O'Clock
next morning, returned verdict of
guilty against all Of the defendants, Ak
ing the death penalty for ali except
Neebe, Rho was given fifteen years in the
penitentiary.
The motion for new trail came up
before Judge Gary Oct. 1 and was arue &
for six days. Judge Gary overruled the
motion. Three days were spent in hear
Judge Gary then sentenced the
day of execution. supersedeas was
granted by Justice Scott of the supreme
court Oh November 81. On March II and
Is, 1887, the case was brought before the
Illinois supreme court at Ottawa on a
writ CT error and arguments heard on a
motion for reversal of the verdict of
the court below. The supreme court,
however, sustained the Judgment of the
criminal court of Cook county, in a
lengthy opinion rendered September Ia.
And so the prisoners were sentenced to
be hanged on the 18th Of November. An
appeal was then made to the supreme
court of the United States, the chief al
legation being that the accused had not
been tried by an impartial jury" as re-
quired by the national constitution. The
supreme court rendered its decision on
November I'd, affording no relief to the
doomed men.